38 HUNTING IN THE ARCTIC 



civilized bondage for the free and easy garments of the 

 wilderness. A flannel shirt, breeches, boots or shoe- 

 pacs, and a cap or cloth hat, were to be our outer shell 

 for the next few months. We packed away in trunks 

 in the hold of the ship all the fine linens and carefully 

 woven textiles of the white man's existence in the centers 

 of fashion, and set ourselves to sorting out the articles 

 we had brought for real use and enjoyment. 



When a man goes off on a long trip to a new country 

 he canvasses the things it will be necessary to take, 

 and after obtaining the information from the people 

 best informed or, if these are not available, from the 

 hterature written about the country, makes up a list 

 of indispensable articles for that region. After whittling 

 this down to its simplest elements, he gets its items 

 together. 



Now the ideas of each man vary as to what is indis- 

 pensable on a hunting trip, and the indispensables of 

 several men when added together make a good deal more 

 than are necessary to any one. Consequently, on every 

 trip into new country, the traveler finds himself loaded 

 up wdth more than he really needs. All the articles are 

 good and serviceable as a rule, but he finds afterwards 

 that he could have managed with less and thereupon 

 makes a resolve not again to furnish himself with so 

 much. 



I still hope some day to realize the ideal of having 

 an outfit which is exactly sufficient, and not too much; 

 but it is not always easy to do in going into countries 

 where the conditions are very varied, and where they 

 are rather different from one's previous experiences. 

 When everji^hing that we did not need on the ship was 

 stowed away below, there remained a considerable out- 



